Thirty minutes away
Honfleur
On the south bank of the Seine estuary, facing Le Havre, about thirty minutes from the house. The Vieux Bassin and its slate-hung facades have been painted so often they gave their name to a school — Courbet, Boudin, Monet, Jongkind. The town holds four flowers in the French villes et villages fleuris awards.
The lakes and the Risle
On the water,
ten minutes away.
Fishing & watersports
Day fishing, no licence needed. Lunch is available on site, but you must ring ahead to book.
For holders of a French fishing licence only. It can be bought online, and a one-day permit is available.
Waterskiing and wakeboarding, sailing and windsurfing — beginners and improvers alike, plus slalom, junior skiing and ringo rides. Skis, wetsuit and buoyancy aid all lent on site. Snack bar, picnic area, volleyball court and playground.
Starting from Pont-Audemer. It is a physical run, part of it against the current: you need to know how to handle a kayak.
Ten minutes away
A former industrial site turned indoor activity complex: ten bowling lanes, 300 m² of trampolines from age 7, a soft-play area for under-12s, pool tables, arcades, darts, and a bar serving all day. The answer to a wet afternoon.
An escape room and board-game café. Two one-hour rooms, 2 to 6 players: Le manoir aux poupées, the gentler of the two, and La disparition — this is the one they recommend for families; it is designed with children in mind. Minimum recommended age 10, accompanied.
Three rooms, three moods: laser tag in a maze, a private karaoke room, and a quiz staged like a TV game show. Enough to keep a group busy when nobody can agree on a plan.
A rustic nine-hole course of 1,740 metres — four par 3s and five par 4s — laid out over seventeen hectares of protected countryside between the Risle valley and the lakes. Same road as the sailing club.
Forty-five minutes away
Jumièges,
the abbey and the lake.
With children
Days that
look after themselves.
With children
Zip wire, high ropes, inflatable village, crazy golf, pedalos, paddleboards and kayaks. Enough for a whole day without organising a thing.
The nearest riding school to the house, at Bourneville-Sainte-Croix.
A children's farm at Saint-Symphorien: ponies, donkeys, sheep, goats, pigs, alpacas, hens, rabbits and guinea pigs, along a self-guided trail with the owners on hand to answer questions. For anyone wanting to make a morning of it, the Petit fermier session — two hours feeding, grooming and caring for the animals, from age 5.
In the wooded park of the Château de Tourville, Normandy breeds share the fields with the usual farm animals — sheep, horses, ponies, pot-bellied pigs, geese, ducks — alongside a small animal house of rabbits, chinchillas and doves. Feeding, grooming and care included.
Where to eat
Right beside the Vieux Bassin, family-run. Traditional Normandy cooking, fish, local produce through the seasons. Generous plates, a vegetarian dish on the menu.
On the edge of the fishing docks, opposite the car park at the entrance to town. Seafood, shellfish and fish, with the Ficelle Honfleuraise as the house speciality — and for meat eaters, tête de veau sauce gribiche or ribeye in camembert sauce.
Honfleur's old dance hall, reworked into a bistro wine bar facing the estuary and the beach. Over a thousand wines from family estates, and simple cooking built on local fish and meat. Lounge areas open all day.
Inside the Hôtel Le Rituel, open every day. The most refined of the four — booking advised.
And if you don't move at all
This guide changes with the seasons. If you're after something else — a restaurant, a walk, an idea for a wet day — just ask us. We know the area.
